Comparison

Living Cells vs Kinetica

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Living Cells

Features
Read full description

Draw a few cells. Press Play. See what they become. Living Cells is a space to explore Conway’s Game of Life on iPad and iPhone. Three simple rules create patterns that stay still, repeat, travel, or grow into something unexpected. BUILD YOUR OWN EXPERIMENTS Draw directly on the board or choose from a visual pattern library. Add a glider beside an oscillator, place several copies, and see how they interact. Every pattern joins your existing board. Undo lets you try another arrangement. WATCH AT YOUR OWN PACE Adjust the speed while the simulation runs, pause to inspect a pattern, or advance one generation at a time. Pinch to zoom, drag to move around, or fit the entire board on screen. DISCOVER FAMILIAR PATTERNS Browse previews and search by name or category. Explore still lifes, oscillators, spaceships, and seeds such as Acorn. Try a Pulsar or a Gosper Glider Gun, then combine it with your own ideas. LEARN THROUGH EXPLORATION Optional examples introduce a blinker and a glider. Discover which cells survive, where new cells appear, and how a shape can seem to move even though each cell only lives or dies. The simulation follows Conway’s original rules throughout. MADE FOR ROOM TO PLAY Explore in landscape on iPad, or use either orientation on iPhone. Pan and zoom across the same 50 × 50 board. Cells outside the board are empty, so reaching an edge can change a pattern’s future. No account, ads, or in-app purchases. Just cells, simple rules, and your curiosity.

About

Kinetica

Features
Read full description

Master kinematics like never before with Kinetica! Kinetica is an interactive, sandbox-style physics simulator and educational companion designed to make kinematics, orbital mechanics, and gravity intuitive and engaging. Whether you are a student preparing for exams, an educator looking for visual classroom tools, or a science enthusiast exploring the cosmos, KinetiX brings physics to life in real-time. • Linear Motion (Beginner): Learn the foundations of one-dimensional motion. Master the calculus-based connections between position, velocity, and acceleration. • Projectile Motion (Intermediate): Explore two-dimensional trajectories. Adjust angles and speeds to see how horizontal and vertical motions combine independently. • Escape Velocity (Advanced): Dive into gravitational physics and calculate the exact energy needed for an object to escape a planet's gravitational pull. • Orbital Mechanics (Expert): Powered by a real-time numerical integration physics engine. Watch elliptical orbits, parabolic paths, and escape trajectories emerge naturally from Newton's laws of universal gravitation. Features- • Real-time Visualizations: Adjust parameters like initial velocity, angle, acceleration, or planetary mass using intuitive sliders and see the simulations react instantly. • Dynamic Graphing: Toggle between Focus Mode (deep-dive into a single graph) and Compare Mode to see how velocity, position, and acceleration interact over time. • "Learn" Companion Guide: Every module features comprehensive conceptual guides, clarifications of common misconceptions, and interactive quiz questions to test your understanding. • Meet Professor Banana (AI Physics Assistant): Have a tricky question? Chat with our built-in AI assistant to get clear, friendly, and structured explanations on kinematics, projectile motion, or orbital mechanics. Physics isn't just about memorizing formulas—it's about understanding motion. KinetiX is designed to build visual intuition, allowing you to run "what-if" scenarios, test extreme values, and immediately see the mathematical results represented graphically.

Screenshots

Living Cells4 screens
Kinetica4 screens

Verdict

The call

Living Cells and Kinetica are too close to call on the numbers: across 5 compared parameters — price, ads, in-app purchases and device support among them — neither pulls far enough ahead to decide it. What separates them is feature set and interface, not measurable difference.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ScorecardNo meaningful differences
Living Cells versus Kinetica: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterLiving CellsKinetica
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 months—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.126.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size4 MB2 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMatthias Robin OrglerGALGOTIAS UNIVERSITY,SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

In-app purchases

None

Living Cells

No in-app purchases

None

Kinetica

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Living Cells free?
Living Cells is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Kinetica free?
Kinetica is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Living Cells or Kinetica have ads?
Neither Living Cells nor Kinetica shows ads.

Other comparisons